This Signature Programme is supporting the development of Early Warning Systems (EWS) across Asia and the Pacific in order to help them respond to both short-term/rapid onset climatic hazards (e.g. cyclones, floods and storms), as well as long-term/slow onset hazards (e.g. drought and long-term climate change).
While Thailand has made remarkable progress in social and economic development over the last four decades, rising temperatures and more frequent and extreme droughts and floods driven by climate change pose an increasing threat to the country’s economy. Water management has emerged as a leading concern.
The “Scaling-up multi-hazard early warning system and the use of climate information in Georgia” project will reduce exposure of Georgia’s communities, livelihoods and infrastructure to climate-induced natural hazards through a well-functioning nation-wide multi-hazard early warning system and risk-informed local action.
Bangladesh’s flat topography, low-lying delta ecosystem and tropical climatic features, combined with its population density and socio-economic environment, make it highly vulnerable to climate change and variability.
In Northern Pakistan, the melting of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalayan glaciers due to rising temperatures have created 3,044 glacial lakes in the federally-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan and province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Cambodia is facing mounting development challenges due to climate change. Longer dry seasons and shorter, more intense rainy seasons are resulting in increased frequency and severity of disasters, including floods and droughts.